Wisdom of Solomon 19

1 Τοῖς δὲ ἀσεβέσι μέχρι τέλους ἀνελεήμων θυμὸς ἐπέστη· προῄδει γὰρ αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα,

2 ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐπιστρέψαντες τοῦ ἀπεῖναι, καὶ μετὰ σπουδῆς προπέμψαντες αὐτοὺς, διώξουσι μεταμεληθέντες.

3 Ἔτι γὰρ ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες τὰ πὲνθη, καὶ προσοδυρόμενοι τάφοις νεκρῶν, ἕτερον ἐπεσπάσαντο λογισμὸν ἀνοίας, καὶ οὓς ἱκετεύοντες ἐξέβαλον, τούτους ὡς φυγάδας ἐδίωκον.

4 Εἷλκε γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἡ ἀξία ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὸ πέρας ἀνάγκη, καὶ τῶν συμβεβηκότων ἀμνηστίαν ἐνέβαλεν, ἵνα τὴν λείπουσαν ταῖς βασάνοις προαναπληρώσωσιν κόλασιν·

5 καὶ ὁ μὲν λαός σου παράδοξον ὁδοιπορίαν περάσῃ, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ξένον εὕρωσι θάνατον.

6 Ὅλη γὰρ ἡ κτίσις ἐν ἰδίῳ γένει πάλιν ἄνωθεν διετυποῦτο, ὑπηρετοῦσα ταῖς ἰδίαις ἐπιταγαῖς, ἵνα οἱ σοὶ παῖδες φυλαχθῶσιν ἀβλαβεῖς.

7 Ἡ τὴν παρεμβολὴν σκιάζουσα νεφέλη, ἐκ δὲ προϋφεστῶτος ὕδατος ξηρᾶς ἀνάδυσις γῆς ἐθεωρήθη, ἐξ ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης ὁδὸς ἀνεμπόδιστος, καὶ χλοηφόρον πεδίον ἐκ κλύδωνος βιαίου,

8 διʼ οὗ πανεθνὶ διῆλθον οἱ τῇ σῇ σκεπαζόμενοι χειρί, θεωρήσαντες θαυμαστὰ τέρατα.

9 Ὡς γὰρ ἵπποι ἐνεμήθησαν, καὶ ὡς ἀμνοὶ διεσκίρτησαν, αἰνοῦντές σε, Κύριε, τὸν ῥυόμενον αὐτούς.

10 Ἐμέμνηντο γὰρ ἔτι τῶν ἐν τῇ παροικίᾳ αὐτῶν, πῶς ἀντὶ μὲν γενέσεως ζώων ἐξήγαγεν ἡ γῆ σκνῖπα, ἀντὶ δὲ ἐνύδρων ἐξηρεύξατο ὁ ποταμὸς πλῆθος βατράχων.

11 Ἐφʼ ὑστέρῳ δὲ εἶδον καὶ νέαν γένεσιν ὀρνέων, ὅτι ἐπιθυμίᾳ προαχθέντες ᾐτήσαντο ἐδέσματα τρυφῆς.

12 Εἰς γὰρ παραμυθίαν ἀνέβη αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ὀρτυγομήτρα,

13 καὶ αἱ τιμωρίαι τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς ἐπῆλθον, οὐκ ἄνευ τῶν γεγονότων τεκμήριων τῇ βίᾳ τῶν κεραυνῶν· δικαίως γὰρ ἔπασχον ταῖς ἰδίαις αὐτῶν πονηρίαις· καὶ γὰρ χαλεπωτέραν μισοξενίαν ἐπετήδευσαν.

14 Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας οὐκ ἐδέχοντο παρόντας, οὗτοι δὲ εὐεργέτας ξένους ἐδουλοῦντο.

15 Καὶ οὐ μόνον, ἀλλʼ ἥτις ἐπισκοπὴ ἔσται αὐτῶν, ἐπεὶ ἀπεχθῶς προσεδέχοντο τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους·

16 οἱ δὲ μετὰ ἑορτασμάτων εἰσδεξάμενοι τοὺς ἤδη τῶν αὐτῶν μετεσχηκότας δικαίων δεινοῖς ἐκάκωσαν πόνοις.

17 Ἐπλήγησαν δὲ καὶ ἀορασίᾳ, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι ἐπὶ ταῖς τοῦ δικαίου θύραις, ὅτε ἀχανεῖ περιβληθέντες σκότει, ἕκαστος τῶν αὐτοῦ θυρῶν τὴν δίοδον ἐζήτει.

18 Διʼ ἑαυτῶν γὰρ τὰ στοιχεῖα μεθαρμοζόμενα, ὥσπερ ἐν ψαλτηρίῳ φθόγγοι τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ τὸ ὄνομα διαλλάσσουσι, πάντοτε μένοντα ἤχῳ, ὅπερ ἐστὶν εἰκάσαι ἐκ τῆς τῶν γεγονότων ὄψεως ἀκριβῶς.

19 Χερσαῖα γὰρ εἰς ἔνυδρα μετεβάλλετο, καὶ νηκτὰ μετέβαινεν ἐπὶ γῆς.

20 Πῦρ ἴσχυσεν ἐν ὕδατι τῆς ἰδίας δυνάμεως, καὶ ὕδωρ τῆς σβεστικῆς δυνάμεως ἐπελανθάνετο.

21 Φλόγες ἀνάπαλιν εὐφθάρτων ζώων οὐκ ἐμάραναν σάρκας ἐμπεριπατούντων, οὐδὲ τηκτὸν εὔτηκτον κρυσταλλοειδὲς γένος ἀμβροσίας τροφῆς.

22 Κατὰ πάντα γὰρ, Κύριε, ἐμεγάλυνας τὸν λαόν σου, καὶ ἐδόξασας, καὶ οὐχ ὑπερεῖδες, ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ καὶ τόπῳ παριστάμενος.

1 As for the ungodly, wrath came upon them without mercy unto the end: for he knew before what they would do;

2 how that having given them leave to depart, and sent them hastily away, they would repent and pursue them.

3 For whilst they were yet mourning and making lamentation at the graves of the dead, they added another foolish device, and pursued them as fugitives, whom they had intreated to be gone.

4 For the destiny, whereof they were worthy, drew them unto this end, and made them forget the things that had already happened, that they might fulfil the punishment which was wanting to their torments:

5 and that thy people might pass through a wonderful way: but they might find a strange death.

6 For the whole creature in his proper kind was fashioned again anew, serving the peculiar commandments that were given unto them, that thy children might be kept without hurt:

7 as namely , a cloud shadowing the camp; and where water stood before, dry land appeared; and out of the Red sea a way without impediment; and out of the violent stream a green field:

8 through which all the people went that were defended with thy hand, seeing thy marvellous strange wonders.

9 For they went at large like horses, and leaped like lambs, praising thee, O Lord, who hadst delivered them.

10 For they were yet mindful of the things that were done while they sojourned in the strange land, how the ground brought forth flies instead of cattle, and how the river cast up a multitude of frogs instead of fishes.

11 But afterward they saw a new generation of fowls, when, being led with their appetite, they asked delicate meats.

12 For quails came up unto them from the sea for their contentment.

13 And punishments came upon the sinners not without former signs by the force of thunders: for they suffered justly according to their own wickedness, insomuch as they used a more hard and hateful behaviour toward strangers.

14 For the Sodomites did not receive those, whom they knew not when they came: but these brought friends into bondage, that had well deserved of them.

15 And not only so, but peradventure some respect shall be had of those, because they used strangers not friendly:

16 but these very grievously afflicted them, whom they had received with feastings, and were already made partakers of the same laws with them.

17 Therefore even with blindness were these stricken, as those were at the doors of the righteous man: when, being compassed about with horrible great darkness, every one sought the passage of his own doors.

18 For the elements were changed in themselves by a kind of harmony, like as in a psaltery notes change the name of the tune, and yet are always sounds; which may well be perceived by the sight of the things that have been done.

19 For earthly things were turned into watery, and the things, that before swam in the water, now went upon the ground.

20 The fire had power in the water, forgetting his own virtue: and the water forgat his own quenching nature.

21 On the other side, the flames wasted not the flesh of the corruptible living things, though they walked therein; neither melted they the icy kind of heavenly meat, that was of nature apt to melt.

22 For in all things, O Lord, thou didst magnify thy people, and glorify them, neither didst thou lightly regard them: but didst assist them in every time and place.